


Red on White

by actual_windy



Category: Tether Series
Genre: Other, Unrequited, Vampire AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 02:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20369143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actual_windy/pseuds/actual_windy
Summary: Vampire AU. Unrequited Zacharias shit.





	Red on White

It was another cold winter day as Zacharias burst from the double doors. A fresh, soft pillowing of snow blanketed the ground, bright blue under the moonlight. He crunched footprints into the snow, making his way through the parking lot. At first he made a bee line for his own car, wanting nothing more than to escape the cold, but a second set of footprints made him stop in his tracks. Ones that lead directly from Nazurah’s car.

There were Nazurah’s, of course, leading from the driver’s side and into the building. They were barely visible beneath the new layer of snow. But there was a second set, smaller, more recent, trailing from the passenger’s side. Zacharias’ gaze followed them, leading him towards the park beside the building. Before he could realize it, his legs started taking him towards that park. 

After a short hike following the footprints, he stopped again. There was a figure beside the center frozen pond. White snowflakes dappled their hair, so soft it looked like liquid black smoke as it danced in the wind. One hand was burrowed into their long, black wool coat. The other hand was currently tossing rocks onto the frozen surface. It was burned pink from the harsh cold. Blood.  _ Human. _

Their black clothing and hair was a stark contrast to the quiet white all around them. Then, they finally turned around, searching for another rock to throw into the pond. Zacharias’ breath stopped entirely when he caught sight of their face. Their eyes were dark and deep, like a baby fawn in the woods. Their nose and lips were red from the cold, a very distinct, and very adorable, human trait. 

It didn’t take long for them to spot Zacharias. He wasn’t too far from them, simply on the path which they had strayed from to investigate the pond. But he was still surprised they could see him in the low light. This park wasn’t frequented by humans specifically because of its lack of lighting. They frowned at him.

Immediately, Zacharias cleared his throat into his gloved fist, retracting his fangs as far as he could so as not to startle them. He absolutely did not want to waste this opportunity. Nazurah was still held up by the rest of the council, but that wouldn’t last. 

He took a hesitant step closer, and when they didn’t immediately bolt, he took another. He tried to smile warmly, “We have to stop meeting like this.”

The human still held their ground, but did narrow their eyes at him. “Yeah. We do.”

When he was as close as he thought he could get, while still trying not to trap them into the frozen pond, he continued, “You’re Greyson, correct?”

They nodded. “Yeah. Zachary?”

“Zacharias, actually.” He quickly corrected. “You must be waiting for Nazurah. Aren’t you cold?”

Grey put their exposed hand back into their pocket. “I’m fine.” 

He took one small step closer. “Would you prefer to wait in my car? I could turn the heat on.”

“No thanks.” They said flatly. Zacharias tilted his head.

_ They take their exclusive status very seriously _ … He acknowledged quietly. The thought excited him. If only he could have been the one to find Greyson first. Did Nazurah even understand what he had? Did he know that, even faced with stability and comfort, this human served him and no one else? Of course he didn’t. 

“Then maybe I’ll just wait here with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. Really.”

“I insist. We can’t have you exposed in the darkness like this. Who knows what kind of dangers could be lurking around here.”

He thought they were going to protest again, but in the end they gave in, looking down at their shoes after a sigh, kicking some snow around. “Whatever. Not like I can stop you.”

  
  


A hum of excitement ran through him as he came to stand next to them. Baby steps. That’s what it would take to win them over. And right now those steps were leading him in the right direction.

Focusing on the lake in front of him, Zacharias tried to stay composed. To keep his excitement under control. But he couldn’t help sneaking to look at them from the corner of his eye. This was how it was supposed to be. How it  _ would _ be if he played his cards right. He and Grey were meant to be together, side by side in everything. The only thing holding them back from that destiny was Grey’s fierce loyalty and his own ability to simply ask for what he wanted.

This was his moment. Fate had led them both here to this quiet spot without distraction and all he had to do was take the leap. But he had to be careful with his little doe. One wrong move, and they were sure to flee from him.

“So...how do you know Nazurah?”

They shrugged, “We ran into each other... and then he just stuck around. Won’t leave.”

“I can understand that. As a member of the council, it is his duty to make sure there is order. He takes his vow to his community seriously.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“And now you are...friends?” Although his intuition told him that Grey was escorting for Nazurah, there was still no concrete proof. Even now as he eyed them in his periphery, he couldn’t see any obvious marks on their neck or wrists. There were always other areas that could be easily hidden, however. Having the confirmation would help him broach the subject.

Another shrug came at him, “Yeah, we’re cool. He’s less annoying than the rest of you, at least.”

Not the answer he was looking for, but he wouldn’t push it. He made a bit of small talk with them, staying away from the subject of Nazurah and their relationship to him as much as he could. Grey was tough to crack, giving him only stunted answers and sideways glances, but that was to be expected. Anything worth having was worth fighting for. He wasn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty. Anything for them.

The far off crunching of the salted steps pulled Zacharias’ head around a few moments later. His heart raced with the thought of Nazurah showing up and ruining everything, but luckily it was only one of the council members. He still had a shot, but he needed to hurry. More members were surely soon to follow.

To his surprise, when he turned to address Greyson again, their gaze was already on him. Just as quickly, though, it darted away, color rising in their cheeks as they stared back out to the lake. They were waiting for him to take this dive, he realized. Waiting for him to say the right thing so they could come clean to him.

He had to be direct. Clear in what he wanted from them. “I want to help you, Greyson.”

He was met with a confused face at first, brow quirked. “With what?”

“Your...arrangement. You are worthy of more than standing out in the cold waiting for a  _ friend _ .” 

“I told you, it’s fine--”

“No it isn’t, Grey. Let me be clear. Whatever Nazurah is paying you,” Zacharias said firmly, “I will triple it.”

“Paying me?”

He took a step closer but they took a step back, the ice cracking under their foot.  _ Careful now _ , Zacharias thought. They were easily frightened creatures. He didn’t want them to faint. 

“Whatever your heart desires I will grant,” He tried again. “Be exclusively mine, that is all I ask.”

Grey scoffed incredulously. “No?... What?  _ Yours _ ?”

“You won’t need to worry about Nazurah. He wouldn’t dare--” Zacharias trailed off as all his senses were assaulted by a smell. It was warm and so vibrant he could practically see colors-- golds, whites, silvers. The scent alone filled him with a radiant comfort, wrapping around his chest and begging to him:  _ you need me. _

“Ah shit.” Grey mumbled as a line of blood descended from their nose and dripped onto the snow, bright red flowers blossoming out. Zacharias stared at it, dazed, confounded by his own desire to get on his knees and lick it off the ground. 

They fumbled in their pocket for a minute before coming back with a wadded up tissue, muttering something under their breath that sounded a bit like “I fuckin’ hate the cold.” Zacharias couldn’t be 100% sure though, all his attention on the spot of red in the pure white snow.

Somehow, after what felt like far too long, he managed, “Are you ok? We really should get you…”  _ to my car, to my home. Never be away from me.  _ “...some place warm.”

Their eyes narrowed on him again, distrust evident. “Nah. I’m good here."

"Greyson." Zacharias said. His instincts told him to show reverence, so he did, and got down on his knee. "Please. I am willing give you  _ anything _ ." He reached out shakily for their hand, but they pulled away.

"You have nothing to offer me." 

"I beg to differ." 

"Then beg."

Is this what they wanted? Was this how he showed them that he meant what he said? If so, he was willing and able. Lowering his other knee to the ground he prostrated himself before them. The action brought him closer to their delectable blood, but he held control. Or at least...as much as he could. He felt his fangs distend to their full length, and tried his hardest to reel them back in, but there was only so far one could rein in instinct.

Raising his eyes to theirs, he took a shuddering breath, trying to ignore what his body craved. “Whatever you wish, Grey.”

Their brows drew low over those beautiful eyes in disbelief as they took another step back, “Are you for real right now?”

“Of course I am. However you want to do this, I will follow your lead. We can even start slow, if you are uncomfortable.” Gods, the smell was really getting to him. Need was heating his blood. Demanding that he get up and  _ take _ what was his. But he had to stay strong to prove himself. He  _ must _ . “What do you say? We will try with just…” he eyed their wrist, “a little taste. Name your price and you’ll see how gentle I can be.”

There was a full moment of silence as he watched Grey absorb his words. They had to know that this was the right thing to do, so why the hesitation? Were they still concerned about Nazurah? He wanted to address that part of all this, but would that be too much? Maybe they weren’t thinking about him at all and just couldn’t believe this was all happening, mirroring his own feelings on the matter. If he brought it up now, maybe he would only make problems for himself.

In the end, he simply waited for them. Staring up into those dark, dark eyes and hoping for--

Grey laughed. A low melodious chuckle that warmed his insides. But they didn’t say anything, just shifted on their feet and checked the tissue they were holding.

They were still bleeding.

“Uh…” another light chuckle, “Nah. This is…” They side-stepped him and started walking toward the path, “You’re too much. The answer’s no.”

Zacharias rose to his knees in a panic, scrambling to turn toward them as they walked away. “No? Grey. Wait--”

“I’m out.” They raised two fingers over their head, “Deuces.”

He watched them as they walked away, his body growing numb from the cold. The large tree trunks made it hard to see the council building, but afforded him a perfect view of Grey reaching the steps and leaning back against one of the stair rails. He wondered if this was another test. Did they want him to follow them? Should he have given up so quickly?

Just as he was about to get up and sprint over to them, whatever chance he thought he had came to a screeching halt. Nazurah himself strode through the doors, glowing jade green eyes focused on his phone until he nearly ran into Greyson. A smile that was far too enthralling spread over his features a second before noticing their hand under their nose.

This far away their voices were faint, but he could still hear Nazurah ask, “What are you doing? What happened?”

Grey pulled the tissue away and Nazurah immediately cursed. Zacharias did the same as Grey’s scent wafted over to him seconds later.

“Fuck.” Nazurah said, guiding Grey’s hand back to where it had been. “Put that away.”

Grey smiled up at him, “It’s just a nosebleed.”

“Key word  _ bleed _ . You are  _ not _ getting in my car like that. How long til it stops?”

“What? You don’t like the snack I brought you?” Grey held their hand out and Nazurah jumped so hard he practically re-entered the building.

“Stop that!”

They sucked their teeth at him, but a smile still pulled at their lips, “You’re ungrateful. I worked hard to make this blood.” They took a lighter from their pants pocket and carefully burned the tissue into nothing but thin air. “There. Happy now?”

Nazurah came back at them, tilting their head up and turning it back and forth to make sure the bleeding had stopped. When he was satisfied, he shook his head at them, trying to remain serious, but ultimately failing. “One day I’m going to bite you, and you better not wonder why. You play too much.” 

“I won’t wonder,” they wrapped their arm around his, pressing in close as they descended the stairs together, “I know I’m irresistible. It’s a heavy burden but  _ someone’s _ gotta bear it.”

More was said as they walked across the parking lot, got in Nazurah’s car, and drove off, but Zacharias was still thinking about what Nazurah had said to them. ‘One day I’ll bite you…’ 

_ One day _ .

Meaning that he hadn’t yet. 

Hope sprang in Zacharias’ heart at the thought. There was still time. His darling could still be waiting for him.

_ I’ll be there soon enough. _


End file.
